I Could Tell
by Nieriel Nighthaven
Summary: PWP ONESHOT Takes place right after "The Western Air Temple" Zuko knows that in order to stay on good terms with the Gaang he must win the respect of Katara, he just doesn't know to what length he must go. Zutara.


Disclaimer: I don't own AtLA.

Summary: PWP ONESHOT Takes place right after "The Western Air Temple" Zuko knows that in order to stay on good terms with the Gaang he must win the respect of Katara, he just doesn't know to what length he must go. Zutara.

* * *

I Could Tell

The halls of the western air temple were dark and Zuko had have the mind to light the torched, but knowing that most of the occupants were sleeping he thought better of it. It had been three days since his encounter with the Katara and he was still really on edge about upsetting the girl. He wasn't afraid of her, not he knew that he could hold his ground against her, maybe even beat her, but he knew that if he wanted to stay on good terms will all of Team Aang he would have to play nice, at least for now.

Even though he had only joined the Gaang only three days ago he already knew the layout of the temple pretty well. His late night wanderings allowed him little sleep, but he was certain that he knew most of the temple and you never knew when that could come in handy. He turned a corner and was surprised to see the silhouette of a person sitting on a bench in front of one of the large, grand window archways that the temple was filled with. Who ever it was sitting by the window had heard him because they turned to face him. The pale moonlight made the Southern Water Tribe Princess' skin shine and her striking blue eyes shown with confusion and anger when they landed on him.

"What are you doing here?" Katara demanded as she stood, taking a defensive stance instantly. Old habits died hard.

"I couldn't sleep." Was all Zuko offered in response, turning to leave, knowing that if he backed down then she would be less likely to fight with him. Pride or not, he needed to stay on good terms with her to survive this war.

"No, wait." It was the small hint of pleading in her voice that pulled at Zuko and made him turn again to face the young waterbender. In the light of the moon her gentle curves were highlighted, reminding that she wasn't all that young anymore. She had grown over the time that he had known her. Over the time that he had chased them, chased her. Guilt washed over him as he saw the defensive stance of her body, knowing that it had been running from him that had forced her to grow up so quickly, that he and his people had turned someone so kind and caring into someone who didn't know who to trust, that didn't know how to forgive. "You have as much right to be here as I do."

The weight of the words were evident to the two former rivals. She might have literally meant the space near the window, but they both knew that she had really meant that his place in the Gaang was just a legitimate as her own. Their eyes met and Zuko knew that she had, in her own way, just told him that she was sorry for her outburst three days ago and he knew that he forgave her. The old him would have wanted to fight, push her until she fought back, but now he knew better. He wasn't just forgiving her to stay in the Gaang, he had to, for himself. When Katara was satisfied that Zuko understood her unspoken words, she turned again to sit and look out at the moon. Zuko knew that this was the right moment to leave if had been looking for one, but something in him wanted to know more about this girl, who always seemed to confuse him with her intense passion for protecting her friends, but her willing forgiveness because somehow she always knew when there was still good in a person.

Katara felt more than heard the firebender walk up behind her and she shifted with ease to allow him a seat on the bench beside her. They sat in a comfortable silence for a while, both just staring out at the sky in their own thoughts.

"When ever there is a full moon the power calls to me. I always feel really restless and I can't sleep," Katara spoke to break the silence Zuko looked up at the moon and then down to his own hands, bending a very small fire, not having the energy or power to make it stronger.

"I always hated the full moon as a child, it made me feel sick. My mother used to sit with me during those nights, she was always there when ever I felt weak."

"I miss my Mom too." Katara turned to face Zuko, making note of how the moonlight made the scar on his face seem more harsh, reminding her even more of how they were on the same side, they fought against the same, common enemy, his father. "My Gran Gran always said that my Mom watched over me, and that the full moon was when her presence was strongest, because her spirit was lending me power."

"I wonder if my mother's spirit is watching over me with her." Zuko mused a small smile gracing his lips as he leaded back on his hands to get a better view of the sky.

"I'm sure she is." Katara smiled back, her hand covering his as she too leaned back, closing her eyes and soaking up the power that the tide pulled toward her.

There was another long moment of peaceful quiet between the two. Katara didn't remove her hand from Zuko's and he found that he didn't want her too. Her touch was the only thing grounding him, keeping him from thinking that maybe, just maybe this whole life was a dream, a thought that had passed his mind often. But this time, he didn't want to wake from it, if it was only a dream.

"Want to spar? I'm sure that will help rid you of some of the restlessness." Zuko offered after sometime, startling Katara slightly. She pulled her hand back as a playful smile pulled at her lips.

"Are you sure you want to do that? Don't you think the odds are a little unfair right now?"

"I think I can handle myself." Zuko replied the genuine humor in his own eyes making Katara openly laugh. The sound was beautiful and it struck Zuko as odd. Was this really the first time he had ever heard her laugh? When had he ever seen her as relaxed as she was now?

"Well if you're sure. We should go to the open courtyard though, there's more room and we won't wake anyone."

"Okay." Zuko agreed, standing first and holding out his hand for Katara. Blushing slightly, Katara took the offered hand and let him lift her to her feet. "After you." Zuko motioned under the pretenses of being a gentleman, though the thoughts that crossed through his mind as he watched her perfect round bottom sway as she walked were far from gentlemanly.

"Keep up Zuko. You wouldn't want to lose in forfeit because you're so slow!" Katara called over her shoulder, a small smile on her lips, knowing full well that the boy was keeping enough distance between them to admire her walk. She knew that he had been eyeing her for a while now.

Zuko would not find it difficult to admit that he found Katara attractive. When he had first met her, of course, he had hardly seen her as anything more than one more person in the way of his capturing the Avatar, but after the necklae incident, Zuko had begun to see something more in her. At first he would notice how the clothes she wore were much more fitting than they were before. They had been on the run for more than a year now and it made sense that they had little money or time to go looking for properly fitting clothing. Not that her clothes didn't fit her, but he did notice things like her shirt puling tighter around her bust than they used to, some days the cloth even looked stretched. He also noticed that her pants were no longer baggy but seemed to fit perfectly to her toned legs, something that never failed to make his blood boil ever time she made any movement that pulled the fabric over her legs making the muscles seem even more defined. He was sure that the girl even knew that he was always looking at her, he hardly hid it unless her bother or the Avatar was around. He had a feeling that Toph knew more than she lead on, but he wasn't worried about the blind girl opening her mouth. She seemed to take a lot of joy in knowing things that she shouldn't and knowing more than those around her.

"Like I would let that happen." Zuko teased as he raced passed her, not noticing as her eyes hungrily roamed over his body as he passed.

Katara knew that she was attracted to Zuko. She had always found him more than easy on the eyes and now with his hair out of that ridiculous ponytail he looked even better. She knew that while her anger towards him was justified she had acted too harshly toward him and even knew that her attraction toward him was partially the cause. It was one think to lust for the enemy, it was a whole other thing to lust to over a possible ally all the while your somewhat boy friend and your brother are watching your every move. Her and Aang had been on somewhat shaky ground ever since the invasion and she didn't really know how to address the matter. On one hand, they had kissed and a part of her really liked it and wanted to happen again. That was the inexperienced part that had the fear of dying in this war without knowing love. The more mature, rational part of her knew that Aang was much too young and immature for her even though she knew that he was more than capable of saving the world. It was a very confusing situation and adding constant contact with Zuko to the mix didn't help her sanity one bit. She knew that this sparing match with Zuko could end very badly, but knowing that it could also answer all of the questions that had been plaguing her ever since her kiss with Aang was too tempting to pass up. Plus any excuse to get to feel up Zuko was a good one as far as she was concerned.

"Now who's falling behind?" Zuko called as he began to strip down to less restricting clothes, leaving him in only his pants. Katara openly looked him up and down before giving the firebender a mock nod of approval.

"Don't worry I wouldn't miss _this_ for the world." Katara threw another look in his direction before she also took off her outer layer leaving herself open in just her bindings for a top and her pants. It was Zuko's turn to admire her revealed skin as he opening gawked over her toned body.

"Well are we sparing or not?" Katara laughed as she got into a defensive stance, her muscles flexing and her legs spread.

"I can think of plenty of other things I would love to do first." Zuko licked his lips, completely unprepared for the water whip that game at him from his right, knocking him into the air. Before he had a change to catch himself, Katara had him landing smoothly on the stone, with a bed of water to break his fall.

"So all I had to do to beat you all these years was take off my top?" Katara teased, not leaving her stance incase Zuko tried to surprise her like she had just done to him.

"That wasn't fair at all!" Zuko protested though the smile on his face showed that he was more than okay with being tricked, if only to watch the way her body moved, easy as the way water flows, when she quite literally swept him off his feet.

"Who ever said I played fair?" Katara was so focused on bending up another powerful attack that she didn't see Zuko run up to her side before he was too close for her to protect herself.

"Then why should I play fair?" Zuko smirked as he pulled on her bindings and they slowly began to unravel. Quickly Katara froze the ribbon of cloth together and turned to glare at the boy.

"Just because you can't bend very well right now does not mean that you get to undress me." She demanded though the amusement in her eyes told him that she was actually far from angry.

"Actually I think my inability to bend more than a small flame means that you intend to fight an unfair fight because I can't bend and you can." This time it was Katara who lunged at Zuko in an attempt to get at his pants, two could play at this game and honestly Katara was so full of energy and power that she didn't really care where this lead to. Her Gran Gran had once told her that a benders power had a lot of effect on their libido, but she had been so young at the time she hadn't understood exactly what this meant. As she found herself rolling around half naked with an equally half naked Zuko it was certainly making more sense to her and all she was concerned with was expending all of her energy.

To be perfectly honest when Zuko had suggested sparing he had every intent of doing just up every dirty thing to her that she would allow. He wasn't a virgin for sure, but he had only been with Mai a few months before they took their relationship to the next level. It had been awkward and an experience that Zuko regretted every time he looked at Katara, knowing that he could have just waited and experienced it all with her instead. But he pushed those thoughts aside for the time being, choosing to focus on her lips on his instead and on the soul shattering things she did with her tongue. For someone who had only kissed the Avatar once, Katara was a natural at kissing. Something that didn't surprise Zuko, just looking at her full lips he would have guessed that they would be heavenly to kiss. He was right.

Katara was sitting on top of Zuko, straddling his hips, kissing him as if this had happened before. With reckless abandon, Katara rocked her hips into his, moaning at the feeling of his core so close to his own. Her lips left his and started down his neck, her insides squirming every time he moaned. For his part, Zuko was doing his best to remove Katara's bindings completely, his hands clumsy as he rushed to remove them. When it was obvious that he couldn't unwind the fabric from her chest without moving form their current position, Katara lifted herself up, quickly unwrapping the cloth with ease, returning her lips to his again within seconds.

Zuko's hands went right for Katara's full breasts the second he she leaned in close enough for him to fondle them. The purely feminine moan that was ripped from her lips when he pinched her nipple was almost enough to throw him over the edge, but he was enjoying this much to much to let it end so quickly. Tearing his lips from hers, Zuko brought one of her hard nipples to his mouth, taking great satisfaction in the noises that she was making.

"I can't-" Zuko knew what Katara meant before she could finish her thought. With the ease of someone who had been in this position before, Zuko flipped Katara on her back, returning to the worship of her breasts when he knew that she was settled.

Katara started to tug at Zuko's pants and he easily helped her take off the last of his clothes as well as hers. It was then that he stopped and really looked at the beauty before him. His gaze was full of lust and admiration and Katara began to feel self-conscious about his intense gaze.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. You're just so beautiful." The weight of the moment suddenly fell on the two. What were they doing? Three days ago Katara had been threatening his life and now they lay together, completely naked under the full moon just about to possibly commit the biggest mistake of their lives or the best thing that would ever happen to them.

"I want you, Zuko." Katara said suddenly pulling them back to the moment. "I want you in me. Now."

"Are you sure? This isn't just the full moon talking?" Zuko didn't want to do this only to have her regret this in the morning. He knew what intense boosts of bending power could do to a bender, he didn't want to find out in the morning that she hadn't actually wanted any of this.

"I promise you, it's not." Katara rocked her hips up to prove her point and Zuko nearly came undone at the feeling of her wet core brushing against his erection. "I want you."

"Okay, this will hurt-"

"I know, don't worry about that." Katara nearly growled, it was obvious that she was just as riled up as he was and was desperately in need of release.

"Okay." Slowly Zuko began to enter her, watching her face carefully as she adjusted to him. "Agni, you're tight." Zuko moaned, keeping himself from pounding into her mercilessly. That would have to wait until next time, if there was a next time.

"Keep moving." Katara whined as he continued to move slowly into her. When he was completely inside he stopped and waited for her to tell him when it was okay to move. He was holding on to his last bit of self control, knowing that he couldn't come until she did. "Move."

The word was like music to Zuko's ears as a slowly began to move. Katara's moans and gasps were enough to tell him that she was no longer in pain. He started to move faster as Katara's nails dug into his back. The mix of pain and pleasure was new to Zuko and he found that he actually rather liked it and began to drive harder into Katara so she would continue to dig into his back.

"Oh yes right there!" Katara cried and Zuko new that he had found her spot. He continued to pump in and out of her, quickening his pace, making sure to hit that spot over and over again, loving the look of complete ecstasy on Katara's face. As her walls started to tighten around him Zuko knew that she was close and he began to let go as well, riding her as fast as he could, moving down to nip and bite at her neck.

"Oh Zuko!" Katara cried as she held on to him tightly knowing that release was so close.

"Come for me Katara." Zuko growled in her ear, sending her over the edge instantly. She cried his name over and over again as she road out her orgasm, bring Zuko along with her.

"Katara!" Zuko cried as he reached his peaking, riding it out with her until he was too exaughisted to move, letting his body fall on top of her, being careful not to crush her. The two lay there for what seemed like hours before either spoke.

"That was amazing." Katara said as she turned to face Zuko drawing his body closer to hers.

"And I bet it even got rid of all of that energy of yours." Zuko laughed as he wrapped his arms around her so he could hold her small frame against his own.

"Why Zuko was that your plan all along?" Katara asked mock shocked as she giggled at his scandalized face.

"No! I would never!"

"Of course you wouldn't." Katara laughed as she snuggled deeper into his warm embrace.

"Well maybe it was part of my plan." Zuko grinned as Katara rolled her eyes.

"I could tell. But what do you mean only part?"

"Well the other part was what I was getting to. I was going to ask if this could happen again, granted it had to happen first for me to ask." At this Katara laughed a beautiful smile framing her face.

"Are you asking for sex again or are you asking to date me because those are two very different things and I don't just sleep around you know."

"Well of course not!" Zuko laughed too knowing that if it weren't for the good mood that both he and full moon induced, Katara might have actually been really mad at him for his tactless question. "And as for your question I meant to ask if you would be my girlfriend."

"Well of curse." Katara laughed leaning in for a kiss. "And as your girlfriend I say we get up off this floor and go do to bed." Katara wiggled her eyebrows at her last statement and Zuko looked exasperated.

"You're ready to go again? Aren't you in pain or something or tired?"

"I'm a water bender, I can heal up sore muscles, and it's still the full moon, I'm still wide awake. Come on!" Katara stood up, bring Zuko with her. She then proceeded to scoop up all of their clothes, running in the direction of his room.

"The full moon is going to be the death of me." Zuko shook his head laughing as he chased after his water bender. At least if he was going to die, he would do it happy, he decided as he more than happily joined Katara in his bed for a long night of _sparing_.

THE END


End file.
